The present invention relates to packaging products into containers. In particular, the invention relates to an operative unit for advancing containers along a conveying line and for transferring the containers from the conveying line to a weighing station and vice-versa.
The proposed invention concerns also packaging of pharmaceutical products, in particular within a sterile environment, so that the articles introduced into containers are not contaminated
Generally, considering sterile working environments, problems have been encountered in avoiding, as much as possible, the presence of sources of pollution.
In particular, it is required that machines working in sterile environments, during normal operation, have no elements which move along prismatic coupling. For this purpose, the power means are generally contained in a hermetic structure, called xe2x80x9cgray areaxe2x80x9d, separated from the sterile environment.
In specific case of machines for packaging liquid or powder pharmaceuticals into containers, such as bottles and the like, transferring the containers from and to a weighing station is a particularly critical operation.
Actually the transfer operation of the containers to be weighed to the weighing means, which requires moving elements, must not constitute a source of electrostatic pollution, so that the precision of the measurements performed by the weighing means is not compromised.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to propose a operative unit, in particular for stepwise working machines for packaging products into containers, which allows to feed containers along a conveying line and to transfer the containers from the conveying line to a weighing station, situated therealong, and vice-versa, so that the weighing is in no way affected by possible electrostatic loads generated by the elements of the unit which move the containers.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a operative unit which operates effectively no matter of the containers size.
A further object of the present invention is to propose a operative unit which does not constitute a source of pollution for the surrounding environment.
Still another object of the present invention is to propose a operative unit, which, beside the previous objects, maintains unchanged the orientation of the containers and moves them in a constant way.
Yet another object of the present invention is to propose a operative unit which achieves the above objects and allows to transfer the containers to a weighing station, so as to allow weighing of all the containers, as well as a statistic weighing.
The above mentioned objects are obtained in accordance with the content of the claims, by means of an operative unit for advancing containers along a conveying line and for transferring the containers from the conveying line to at least one weighing station and vice-versa, the operative unit including:
an endless conveyor passing through the weighing station;
a sliding track on which said containers move, said sliding track being parallel to said conveyor;
said unit being characterized in that it further includes:
moving means for moving said containers on said sliding track, said moving means being removably fastened to said conveyor;
a platform forming a portion of said sliding track situated in the region of said weighing station
driving means connected to said platform for temporarily disengaging said containers supported by the platform from said moving means and for placing said containers in engagement with weighing means of said weighing station.